Year two at a conference always seems to be easier and more enjoyable, and that definitely held true for the 2012 Bronto Summit. The good folks at Bronto understand and the live the motto, “work hard, play hard.” From 8:00am – 5:00pm, we learned from some of the industry best marketers and then enjoyed exceptional entertainment from the Bronto Nation.

The theme of the conference, Big Data… Big Data is a hot topic across all ecommerce, as more data becomes available for ecommerce professionals. Data flies in from all corners, and it is up to retailers to make the most of the data. From the email marketers standpoint, it all comes down to the most accurate and scalable segmentation. How does a retailer reach a customer at the right time with the right message? Can email marketers speak with their customers on a 1:1 level?

Spoiler Alert -- YES! 1:1 email marketing & remarketing is here to stay.

Big Data is not an uncommon problem at iGoDigital, either. Our Customer Intelligence Engine collects millions of clicks, purchases and searches every day – giving us a ton of data to filter through.

Retailers of all sizes are searching for a tool that allows for simple segmentation with very powerful data. Through our clients' requests, we have found that view and product behavior data is one of those major needs. So, iGoDigital launched the behavioral based Segment Builder – making a big debut at the Bronto Summit when Darren Baldwin from Dungarees.net told his story.

On a side note, congratulations to Darren and the Dungarees.net team for its new and exciting press in the Internet Retailer Publication.

How does iGoDigital use Big Data? Since we are observing consumer behavior in real-time, our innovation team decided to create a tool that easily allows retailers to segment their shoppers based on product and category views, not just purchases. This changes the game for marketers.

Instead of segmenting by customers who bought jeans, for example, we can segment based on customers that have viewed Jeans. With a simple query (no IT time required) a marketer has access to a highly segmented list and a clear target market. Below is a sample email that Dungarees.net sent to individuals who had viewed, but not purchased jeans in a certain timeframe.

It’s a story that I was fortunate enough to get to tell with Darren at the Bronto Summit. In our break out session, we discussed how retailers should be remarketing to each of their shoppers based on their behavior on the site. As an example, if a shopper visits the running shoes section but fails to add the product to the cart, retailers need to understand this data and take action – email action!

After a customer moves from a browser to a buyer, retailers need to be creating a personalized post-purchase experience that builds brand awareness and reminds that shopper to return for additional purchases. Here are a few tips we discussed at the conference:

All in all, the conference was a great success. I believe everyone in attendance was able to take away a few good tips back home. Whether that was looking at the Weather Channel and sending an email to the raining parts of the country or leveraging holidays such as April Fools for creative design, each individual came away a smarter, more effective marketer.

We enjoyed the conference and we’re honored to able to participate in another great year. Look forward to #BSUM13 in a brand new location – maybe Cancun?

Here are some fun tweets from the conference and our presentation:

@j_t_moore --  @JMDeines presentation on triggered emails was best breakout session so far today at #BSum12

@erikaroe --  iGoDigital @JMDeines says keys are innovation and marketing on a 1:1 level, few willing to give up internet among other things. #bsum12

@chrisreighley -- 40-40-20 Rule. 40% offer 40% list 20% creative on email marketing. Die Word Man Die #bsum12 @Kmagill

Thanks for the kind words!

Interested in viewing the entire Bronto Presentation? Visit: http://www.slideshare.net/Bronto_Software/personalized-triggered-emails-turn-eretail-browsers-into-buyers-12562133?ref=http://brontosummit.com/sessions/personalized-triggered-emails-turn-eretail-browsers-buyers